In the news

it feels a bit like every western country is on the brink of civil war

Granted.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/05/boy-15-simone-italy-video-hailed-as-hero-rome-roma

A 15-year-old boy who stood up to far-right activists during violent
protests in Rome has won plaudits across Italy.

The boy, Simone, was filmed speaking out in defence of minorities on
Tuesday, when hundreds of far-right activists and residents took to
the streets of Torre Maura, a Rome suburb. They were demonstrating
against the temporary rehousing of 70 Roma people at a reception
centre in the area.

While one of the leaders of the neo-fascist CasaPound party was
telling journalists that local people did not want the Roma around,
Simone raised his hand and intervened, saying: “I don’t think like
you.

“What you are doing here in Torre Maura is exploiting the anger of the
people. You turn this anger into votes, for your interests.

Charlie Rowley meets the Russian Ambassador for answers; prompted, it appears, by The Sunday Mirror. On the clip I saw he was wearing a white shirt straight from the packet and looked bewildered and out of his depth. The poor guy is still a victim and now The Sunday Mirror are making money from his continued suffering.

Gordon Strachan's been drinking Windolene again:

“If he (Adam Johnson) goes on to the pitch and people start calling
him names, have we got to do the same as it is to the racist
situation? Is it all right to call him names now after doing his three
years – have we got to allow that to happen?”

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/07/gordon-strachan-will-not-appear-on-sky-again-after-adam-johnson-remarks

Sky say they won't use him as a commentator any more. It's just bizarre, I can't even work out what he was trying to say.

You know a sports personality/commentator is in deep shit when they have to put out a four paragraph solicitor written apology for something they said.

This is it - it's hard to even work out what he's saying but even suggesting the equivalence is not on.

I think he's trying to suggest that he doesn't want people criticising a convicted paedophile treated the same as racists, because it's less understandable.

But it's so garbled and badly thought through that he's only got himself to blame.

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-suspected-rhino-poacher-was-killed-by-an-elephant-then-eaten-by-lions-authorities-say

click click eeeeeh in my contreh aweeeeeehu.]

also - RIP Mr Poacherman.

hahaha

Live by the gun, die by trampling to death by an elephant.

are you that guy off the gods must be crazy?

Marius Weyers? I guess I can see that.

i was thinking the dude with the click-click name, but yours is a sound guess

HAY. watch yor bleddy lenguege befaw ah birn dyown yor villij!

diplomatic immunity etc.

Had to drop a Mate off at Stansted early this afternoon. Could have done without the mist & rain.
Steaming up the M11, we see a sign saying '45 min delay between J8a & 11'.
Google Maps is having none of it.
We exit the M11 at the junction for the A414 and circle the roundabout in case Google Maps has yet to update it self. Still no reported hold up, so rejoin the M11.
As approach the Stansted (no need to slow down) intersection, we can see stationary traffic on the motorway, so exit as if we wish to visit the Birchanger Services,
but swing to the right to access the A120 towards Stansted.
A couple of minutes later we are on an empty dual carriageway towards the airport,
(so assume something has blocked the intersection).
Getting close to the Terminal, we are at the penultimate roundabout,
(which had all the earthmoving done when the intersection was built 6/7 years ago,
and clearly is designed to be an underpass, but thi is not yet built).
Onto the roundabout and our exit is full of stationary traffic, and swinging round the roundabout we can see there is a Police checkpoint. We complete our revolution of the roundabout and join the slow moving traffic. We are traffic-coned down to a single lane, and an Officer bids us to stop.
'Destination?', 'France.' my passenger informs him.
'And you're the owner?', 'Yes'.
His colleague a few yards further on with an iPad indicates the registration checks out for Tax, Insurance & MOT and we are allowed to proceed.
Returning after dropping off my Mate, I note they have a high mounted lighting gantry and generators, a flatbed tow truck, and about a dozen empty vehicles waiting to be 'recovered',
presumably all in violation of T, I or MOT?
I seldom venture to Stansted.
Is this a standard procedure by the Essex Constabulary?

.

Pretty standard for any constabulary I think. Happens in Greenwich and Lewisham fairly regularly. If you're caught without insurance etc, you can't drive away.

Pretty funny idea to fuck people's holidays for not having their tax/MOT etc up to date.
Less funny to also fuck all the people caught up in the traffic jam who are also going to miss their flights.

If indeed the traffic was caused by the checkpoint.

...or by cunts driving without rego or insurance

Essex Police tweeted the outcome of this checkpoint.

Tickets issued for 66 instances of not wearing seatbelt, 2 driving while using mobile phone, 7 illegal window tints, 10 no MOTs, 7 number plates infractions, 4 tyre offences, 4 no insurance, 9 speeding. 5 cars seized in total.

TFL were there also, and nabbed taxi drivers for false/no ID, 11 unfit to drive.

It didn't say, but sounded like private hire vehicles were the main concern.

There was also a human slavery check going on near Stanstead at the same time.

Who doesn't wear a seatbelt in 2019? Madness.

Loads of peoples.....

Pretty funny idea to fuck people's holidays for not having their tax/MOT etc up to date.

Less funny to also fuck all the people caught up in the traffic jam who are also going to miss their flights.

I feel like trying to catch people like this is a pretty inefficient way of doing it. Given that I can check my MOT and Tax status online, there should be a bulk way of doing this - and then joining that to the DVLA to get registered addresses of owners.

Appreciate you wouldn't catch unregistered cars this way, but you'd get the bulk of them surely.